The Crane Machine
by Katiemonz
Summary: Of all the places for the last Chaos Emerald to be... why did it have to be in a crane machine? Sonic tries to win it, and Tails wants to pull his hair out. One-shot!


**Notes:** Just a quick oneshot! It's sort of similar to Hikareh's oneshot, "Trapped!" but that's because I came up with this while she was writing that and we were discussing the scenario lmao. So if you end up liking this I'd definitely check out her fic! For all the Time Warp fans, TW-themed stories are coming! I just wanted to post this one first!

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The seventh Chaos Emerald had to be around here _somewhere._ Sonic and Tails had tracked it to this arcade, on a boardwalk overlooking Emerald Coast. They had the other six Emeralds with them, ready to keep them safe if Eggman decided to strike. He usually liked to make a grab for them when they were all in one place.

The arcade was relatively empty, a side effect of it being early May; the beach was almost empty, as the weather was just starting to warm up. Still, the place had flashing lights of all colors, all sorts of ringing and buzzing sounds, and cheerful music. Sonic and Tails walked in, sneakered feet brushing against the colorful carpeting that reminded them of an old bowling alley.

Once they found the right arcade building (there were like, five different ones on this boardwalk alone), it didn't take long to spot the last Emerald. When they did, Sonic groaned so loud it was practically a distressed scream.

The last Emerald was inside a crane machine.

"A _crane machine?!"_ the hedgehog whined, stepping up to the thing and putting his hands on the glass. The gray Emerald was sitting on top of a bed of plush toys. At the very least, it wasn't buried, and it was in a decent position. It wouldn't be out of the question to win it.

"So," Tails asked, sounding smug. "You gonna try to win it? Or are we skipping straight to destruction of private property?"

Sonic dropped some rings into the machine, booting it up. "Well, I gotta at least give it a try, don't I?"

The crane sat at the front left of the machine, and the game only had three buttons: one to move the crane to the right, one to move it back, and one to drop it. Its lights flashed and some upbeat music began to play, so Sonic started pressing the buttons to get the crane in position. His tongue was sticking out at an angle as he shifted back and forth, trying to gauge if the crane was really over the Emerald or not. Once he was sure he had it positioned correctly, he slammed the drop button, lowering the crane.

"C'mon baby, c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon… Dang it!" he hissed. The arms of the crane limped around the Emerald's form, and then just as limply let go. The gem had barely budged. Sonic glared at the crane. "Weak."

"Well, you know these things are rigged," Tails smiled, watching his older brother shove more rings into the slot.

"Yeah, but it's also designed to let me win at _some_ point," the hedgehog said, starting up another game. "C'mon baby, give it to me give it to me- _oh come on!"_

Tails sighed, accepting that Sonic would be here a while, especially considering how stubborn he could be. "I'm gonna go get a snack. You want anything?"

"What? Can't talk, this is the one. I feel it. Third time's the charm, c'mon…"

The fox shook his head. He wasn't going to get a straight answer, it seemed. He turned and started to walk away, heading back outside where he saw a food cart relatively close by. He heard Sonic curse at the machine behind him, having lost again. He walked a little faster.

Taking his sweet time, Tails returned much later with a soft pretzel and a soda. He sipped his Chas Cola as he walked back into the arcade. Sonic still hadn't moved from the crane machine, as expected. The hedgehog had already lost a couple handfuls of rings to the blasted game, and had resorted to feeding the mobiums he had on hand into the arcade's change machine. All he'd manage to accomplish so far was knocking the Chaos Emerald onto its side.

"It's _taunting_ me, Tails," he frustrated speedster said as the fox approached. "It's just sitting there, laughing at me. You know how many direct hits I've gotten? Tons! And this stupid crane won't _actually_ use its crane muscles! It's not fair, I tell ya!"

"I know it's not fair. We _just_ discussed how rigged these games are," Tails said calmly before taking a bite of his oversized pretzel. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Sonic grew tired of this, or ran out of pocket change. Either way, he wasn't going to play forever. "We could always ask someone in charge to unlock the game for us, you know. This isn't exactly a normal prize, they'd give it to us."

"Yeah, like it would be that easy," Sonic rolled his eyes. "The sixth Emerald was _inside a whale._ Why would the seventh be that easy? It demands to be _won._ Outsmarted. Not simply asked for and handed over!"

"Okay, now you're just being dramatic."

"So sue me. I'm not giving up, Tails."

The young fox sighed. "Of course you're not." He leaned against the side of the crane machine, eating his snack as Sonic continued.

Ten plays and one consumed pretzel later, Tails spoke again. "I'm close to breaking this thing open myself. I'll pay for the damages. I don't care."

"Have a little patience, bro," said Sonic, who had just put an entire 20 mobium note into the change machine. He had a small mountain of rings next to him, and at the rate things were going, he'd spend all of them before he got the Emerald. "Dammit." Another loss, another fistful of rings in the machine.

"I refuse to sit here all day and watch you try to win this thing."

" _You_ wanna try?" Sonic asked, gesturing to the controls.

" _No."_

"Then stop complaining and let me concentrate."

Tails whined quietly as he slid to the floor, until he was sitting with his back leaning against the crane machine. He just _had_ to leave his Miles Electric at home, didn't he? The machine hummed against his back, the cheerful music jingle playing for what felt like the millionth time. Sonic positioned the crane, it dropped, it refused to lift the Emerald, rinse and repeat. Tails knew he could leave and just go do something else to pass the time, but none of the arcade machines he passed interested him very much, and besides, if Sonic knew he had some rings on him, the hedgehog would probably request them for his Chaos Emerald crusade. There wasn't much to do outside the boardwalk, either. It wasn't warm enough for the beach to be any fun, and a lot of the local shops still weren't open yet. All he'd be able to do was walk around. But Sonic had the other six Emeralds on hand, and Tails didn't want to leave him alone in case Eggman decided to strike-

Wait. Sonic had the other six Emeralds with him. _Duh._

Tails grabbed Sonic's wrist as the hedgehog went to put more rings into the slot. Sonic's eyes widened. "Uh, Tails? What gives?" he asked, confused why his buddy just stopped him in his tracks.

"You already have the other Emeralds," the fox said, a smile forming on his lips. "The only thing keeping you separated from the seventh is a piece of glass. Normal glass shouldn't do anything to stop Chaos Energy, right?"

"Nnnnoooo," Sonic frowned, unable to see what his buddy was getting at.

"All seven Emeralds are here. You can just go Super. You'll absorb all the Emeralds, and you'll get the last one out of the machine. Easy."

The blue one's frown quickly turned into an excited grin. "Dude, I think you're right!" he gasped, and Tails let go of his wrist. Sonic stepped back, eyeing the machine as a whole. Yeah, there was nothing that should stop him from just absorbing the gray Emerald along with the others. "I can totally just go Super. If I power down quick enough, the Emeralds probably won't scatter. Tails, you're a genius!" he cheered, high-fiving the young fox.

"So this counts as 'outsmarting the Emerald' then?"

"Oh, absolutely. Stand back!" Sonic pulled out the six Chaos Emeralds he'd been storing in his quills. They, plus the one in the machine, glowed brightly, happy to be reunited. The Emeralds all started to float, until they formed a circle around Sonic. A gentle breeze kicked up around him, which got faster and faster. Tails closed his eyes as Sonic was consumed by a warm flash of gold.

Everything went quiet. Tails opened his eyes, expecting to see Super Sonic floating in front of him. But Sonic wasn't there. He had somehow wound up _inside the crane machine,_ crammed inside amongst the plush toys, pressed up against the glass. "Oh my gods," Tails choked, exerting all his strength to keep himself from laughing. From the look on his face, he was about ready to burst.

"Don't. Say. A word," Sonic grumbled, his voice muffled by the glass.

Tails couldn't take it. He exploded into laughter, collapsing to the ground and wrapping his arms around his abdomen. Soon, he was laughing so hard that the laughter turned silent. The only noise he made were squeaky breaths, his body desperately trying to get more air as he laughed harder than he had in a long, long time. The sight of Super Sonic, the ultra-powerful, glowing, golden hedgehog, smooshed inside of an arcade crane machine was too much for him to take.

"Tails! Cut it out!" Super Sonic groaned, trying to reposition himself so that he could blast his way out. Unfortunately, he couldn't move much. He'd wound up in such an awkward position, and he seemed to be stuck. His legs were crammed against his chest, his arms pinned on either side by the glass box he was trapped in. If he just burst out willy-nilly, he risked hitting Tails with the expelled shards of glass, or he risked hurting himself in the process. Not that his Super form could get hurt easily, but still, getting hit with sharp glass in the face was not something he was in the mood for at the moment. He wiggled relentlessly, trying to free an arm, to no avail. Tails was still rolling on the floor, trying to find the ability to breathe. "Come on Tails, I'm serious! I think I'm stuck," the golden hedgehog said, but that was a mistake.

Hearing that Sonic was stuck only made Tails laugh harder, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. The fox's abs were on fire, and he pounded a fist on the floor. Sonic made an annoyed noise as he waited for Tails to calm down, which took a couple of minutes. "Oh Chaos I can't breathe," Tails wheezed, finally able to get a sound out. His face was scrunched up, his cheeks hurting from smiling so hard for so long. "I can't- I can't do it! I'm gonna puke!" he laughed, unable to control himself.

Super Sonic waited for Tails to calm down _again,_ the fox left coughing and wheezing on the arcade floor. "You done?" the hedgehog asked, fully aggravated now.

"I- I think so," the fox gasped, pushing himself up to his knees. "That was the best workout I've gotten in a long time, sweet Chaos..." He coughed, and wiped his eyes with his hands. "Hoo boy, this is amazing. You're lucky I don't have my camera with me. Wait, can I go get my camera?"

"The workshop is hours away by plane, Tails," Sonic deadpanned, shooting his friend a nasty look. "That's it. I don't care if I get glass in my face, I'm busting out of here. Move out of the way, bud." Tails moved out of the immediate vicinity of the crane machine, still trying to catch his breath. Sonic started gathering up the energy inside him, ready to blast the machine sky high. "Okay, on three. One, two-"

"There you are!" suddenly came a loud voice from the entrance to the arcade. _Eggman._ Perfect. The doctor was in some sort of giant robot, Sonic couldn't turn his head far enough to make it out. "All seven Emeralds in one place, ripe for the... picking..." the doctor said, before he noticed Super Sonic trapped inside the crane machine.

Sonic could only see Eggman's bot out of the corner of his eye, barely able to make out its cockpit. But still, he could see the doctor doubled over inside, laughing so hard it seemed like he was well on his way to having a stroke. Eggman's laughter caused a resurgence in Tails, and soon both of them were howling.

Sonic sighed, his best friend and his arch nemesis grating on his last nerves. He gritted his teeth as he burst out of the crane machine, the glass bouncing harmlessly off his body. The other two didn't notice, still too busy laughing. The Super hedgehog pinched between his eyes. "I hate you both."

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 **Notes:** It ends a little abruptly but I still like it :) Hope you did, too! If you did, don't forget to leave a review and tell me your favorite part! I'd really appreciate it. Have a good one everybody!


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